Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto is creamy and delicious. Elegant and fool-proof, too!

echo, echo, ECHO… HAP-py New Year!

(horns blow, confetti falls, smooches abound, etc., etc.)

Hi there! How was your New Years? Ben and I had a wonderful dinner at Albaon New Years Eve – Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Chive Gnocchi, and Salted Caramel Creme Brulee for her / Beet Salad, Seared Scallops, and Chocolate Lava Cake for him (!!) – then rang in the new year buried in a floor fort at home.

I had developed somewhat of a stomachache before dinner (which clearly wasn’t bad enough to stop me from eating every last morsel of food on my plate(s)), which unfortunately got worse afterwards. So, instead of hopping over to our friend’s shindig, we layered a bunch of blankets on the living room floor, built a fire, and counted down with Times Square at 11pm. I dozed until 11:58, acknowledged the start of the new year in the Midwest, then went to bed. I ROCK!

Poor Ben.

Yesterday I felt much better though, and kicked 2013 off with a rejuvenating trip to the gym, followed by enjoying my family’s annual pork and sauerkraut lunch, for good luck in the new year. Long story involving the Pennsylvania Dutch. Football rounded out the rest of the day. Hopefully the Midwest can represent a bit better at the bowl games next year, right? Iowa State, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois…come on guys!!

Anyways, it’s back to the grind today! Isn’t it crazy to think, just like that, the holidays are over? The sparkle and shine have all been put away, and it’s Spring Break we’ve all got to look forward to now. Ben and I just booked a fun and fancy little trip for April. Can’t wait to tell you about it!

Oh boy. Take a day off from blogging and this is what you get – a rambling blogger.

ANYWHO, I made a special recipe for you guys today. For whatever reason, over the past couple of weeks I’ve been bombarded with risotto recipes. They seem to be popping up everywhere, and Ben and I ordered risotto three times while in DC. Well, technically he ordered it, and then I ate it off his plate. Aka we ordered it.

In the past I have been uber-intimidated by risotto. All that stirring? Constantly having to pay attention? Did I mention all that stirring??

All the risotto we’ve had over the past couple of weeks have been really, really – I mean really – delicious though, so I decided to put myself up to the challenge of making it at home. The verdict?

The rumors are partway true – yes, there is stirring involved, about 20 minutes total, but NO, this is NOT a fussy, watch-like-a-hawk dish. It’s actually kind of foolproof, provided you don’t walk away to, I don’t know, clean the garage or something while you’re in the middle of making it. In plain English – it’s pretty simple!

Not to mention, Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto is mouthwatering. Creamy, and chewy with just a hint of parmesan cheese. It’s so elegant, and really, all you have to do is stir!

Start the Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto by heating 2-1/2 cups chicken broth in a small saucepan. You’ll be ladling it into the rice, and don’t want to add cold or room temperature broth as it would bring the cooking temp of the rice down. Bring the broth to a boil then turn the heat down to low.

Arborio rice is a short grain rice that releases a lot of starch as it’s stirred and cooked, which results in a fabulously creamy risotto. You can buy arborio rice in bulk at most grocery stores, or find it in the rice aisle.

K! Next add 1/4 cup dry white wine to the rice then stir until nearly absorbed. I used pinot grigio, which added just a touch of wine-y flavor. If you’re worried about serving this risotto to kids – the alcohol in the wine cooks out!

Next start ladling in the chicken broth about 1/2 cup at a time. Add the broth, then stir gently and constantly until the broth is nearly absorbed. Again, this is not HARD, and if you walk away to put a dish in the dishwasher, IT’S OK. Just do your best to stand there and stir like a robot.

My advice? Crank some tunes to help pass the time! I went through 5 or 6 songs while making this entire dish. (FYI, as much as I love me some Hakuna Matata, the Disney songs are for my nephew.) ;)

When there’s one ladleful left, add 10 jumbo-sized shrimp then stir until they’re cooked and pink.

I used about 2-1/2 cups chicken broth total. You might need a bit more or less. Just taste the rice and see how the texture is coming along. If it’s tender and chewy – you’re good. If it’s chewy but with a hard center, add more (hot) broth. When the rice is nice and tender, stir in 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and keep hot.

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat then add onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add rice then stir to coat in butter. Add wine then stir until nearly absorbed by rice. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth to pan and stir continuously until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until nearly absorbed before adding more.

When there’s about 3 additions of broth left, add asparagus pieces and continue stirring. When there’s 2 additions of broth left, add shrimp and continue stirring. Taste rice and determine if you will need to use all 2-1/2 cups broth to get the rice to a chewy-tender consistency.

To finish, stir in parmesan cheese then add pepper and salt to taste.

As I mentioned, this dish tastes simply elegant. If you really want to impress someone, even if it’s just your cat, whip up a batch of this risotto!

The creamy rice and shrimp give the risotto substance, too. I was totally full and satisfied after eating a big ‘ol bowl of it.

Let me know if risotto makes ya’ sweat, too, and if you give this recipe a try. I HIGHLY recommend!

Hey Chelsea! Sorry to stick my nose in here, but I just wanted to let you know that I was cooking brown rice once, and I sauteed it first with some butter and onion, and then I added chicken broth and cooked it just like you normally would…and I’ll be darned, but it came out creamy and dreamy and just like risotto! Sauteing it first must have brought out the starch. Then I just sprinkled in fresh Parmesan. Try it and see…it’ll be delicious no matter what!

okay, so minus the fact that i am not a food blogger, i feel like i could have written this post. this is my favorite way to eat risotto. and girl, that creme brulee at alba is amazing! my husband lived about two blocks from there when he was in des moines for work and i made us get dessert there all the time.

OMG I TOTALLY shy away from risottos, too, because of how slow and tedious they seem to be. But you’ve inspired me to try a lot of recipes (and ingredients) that have scared me off before, so I will definitely give this a go! Good tip about the music, too. Music makes everything go by faster!

I’ve made risotto a couple of times – far and few between – and when I do, I never regret it! I even made it with beer once (a la HowSweetEats.com), amaazing. I have trouble coming up with flavor combos, though…I never would have thought of asparagus and shrimp!!

M. Stewart’s website has an oven-baked risotto recipe that involves no tedious stirring and the result is consistently fabulous. Mix up ingredients, bake it for a while and VOILA! – you have delicious, creamy risotto.

The recently saw a recipe from Ellie Krieger for a black rice risotto. I was looking for something to do with black rice after I bought some in the the bulk bins. I chickened out and it’s still sitting in my pantry. So if you figure out how to cook black rice let me know m’kay?

I had a pretty good edamame risotto at Mojo’s in Johnston (RIP) and then an AMAZING champagne risotto with arugula, brie & pear at our honeymoon in Cancun last month. The only way it could have gotten better was maybe a bit of whisper thin prosciutto on top.

Your NYE sounds quite similar to mine, only my stomach ace and tiredness was wine induced. :) Guess that’s what happens when you drink a bottle over a later dinner. Opps. ;) Hope you had a lovely New Year despite the fact though. Lots of love to you!

I love risotto but don’t have the patience to spend 20 minutes at the stove stirring – bad things always happen when I try that. I found a recipe by Ina Garten for Easy Parmesan “Risotto” that has made me into a risotto fan. The rice and other add-ins are baked in a Dutch oven with all but 1 cup of the broth, which is stirred in at the very end with the cheese (so I spend 2 minutes stirring as opposed to 20). It’s delicious, creamy, and very friendly for the easily distracted (like me!).

Ahhhh….pork and sauerkraut. I was born in PA but grew up in the DC area, and this was an annual tradition. I lived in Iowa for awhile but never encountered anyone there who knew of the tradition. My husband is from Indi and he had never heard of it either. My entire extended family still make it every New Years Day for good luck.

I have been wanting to try to make a risotto recipe, but have always been intimidated by them. This sounds simple enough, though. I would love to try making it without the shrimp and with more veggies!

Oooh, this looks amaaaazing! I feel the same way about those bowl games. I mean really, this was our (WI) THIRD trip (in a row) to the Rose Bowl and we still couldn’t win?! I thought the third time was the charm! At any rate, Happy New Year, IGE!

I love making risotto – one of my favorite recipes includes butternut squash and LOTS of cheese. Asparagus and shrimp are two of my favorite foods, I’m definitely going to try out your version of risotto :)

Great post Kristin. I have tried a lot of risotto recipes including those that don’t require the classic methodology you used and the while the others can turn out a nice rice dish, I’ve yet to discover one that creates what you made. Alba is certainly one of my favorite places in DSM and recommend their risotto on the lunch menu when I need the fix without wanting to fix.

Happy New Year! Let’s hear more about the “family’s annual pork and sauerkraut lunch, for good luck in the new year. Long story involving the Pennsylvania Dutch.” Sounds yummy!

I tried making a black eyed pea with collard greens and ham dish in the crock pot for good luck. Hopefully it brings good luck even if the beans were still crunchy and we didn’t really care for the dish. This after soaking the peas for 8 hours and crock potting for almonst 12 hours!

I absolutely LOVE risotto! It’s such a blank canvas that you can add anything to it that you love to eat. I made a Pumpkin-Shiitake Risotto that was warm, comforting, and delicious. Risotto’s a great way to teach a person patience when cooking. :)Can’t wait to try the lighter version you made!

[…] was craving something fancy for dinner tonight and decided that Iowa Girl Eat’s yummy looking shrimp and asparagus risotto would be perfect. While I had originally dismissed the recipe as too fancy and far too hard, I […]

I’m from PA and we do this every year. The reason is “it brings good luck. With their snouts, pigs root forward, signifying progress, lore dictates, whereas chickens and turkeys scratch backward.” William Weaver, food historian who lives in Chester County, PA.

Get a pork roast and brown on all sides. Take a bottle of room temp beer add it to a crockpot with the browned pork. Add 15 whole pepper corns. Leave in the crockpot all day – was in by 9:00 am and we ate at 5:30 pm. My husband had it on high for 1 1/2 hours and then low for the rest of the time. It fell right off the bone.

The sauerkraut was from the bag and heated on the stove and we also had mashed potatoes…

Just wanted to say Thanks… not just for the great dish , but also for such a wonderful blog. I too have a major sweet tooth (hot lips are my fav.) and have been running for a year now. Look forward to reading more. Hope you have a great day and thanks again.

[…] stir until it’s nearly all absorbed. I used an inexpensive pinot grigio. As I mentioned last time, the alcohol from the wine will cook out, but it’s yummy, elegant flavor will remain in the final […]

I Just made this and I must say, this is possibly the best thing to ever come out/off of my stove. It’s so simple but tastes SO good! I made double this and my roommate said it’s the best risotto she’s ever had! (I’m inclined to agree!)

I made this tonight with zucchini instead of asparagus since that’s what I had. It was excellent. I’ve tried risotto in the past and it didn’t turn out so good. Thank you for the inspiration and excellent directions and photographs.

Thanks for sharing this! I’m a huge risotto fan and always looking to make new combinations.

I served this with some baked salmon for Valentine’s day- it came out perfectly! I ended up having to use a little more broth (closer to 3 cups), but the flavor and proportions were perfect. Each bite had just enough rice, asparagus, and shrimp so that it felt really balanced.

[…] Iowa Girl Eats’s Simple Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto -> You know I don’t think I’ve EVER made real risotto before! It’s been on my cooking bucket list for ages now, and is one of those staple recipes that I feel every amateur chef sound know how to make. It seems easy enough and this recipe sounds like a perfect starting point. […]

I just finished making this – I am NOT a cook. But this was actually pretty simple. I know you had said crack up the tunes – which I did. It took you 5-6 songs of stirring like a robot- It took me 2 glasses of wine! (Had to open bottle to use in recipe! Couldn’t let it just sit there and go to waste – right?) lol Looking forward to WOWing the pants off my boyfriend with this :) lol

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My name's Kristin and I'm an Iowa Girl! I eat as well as my sweet tooth allows, run as often as possible despite the crazy Iowa weather, and am usually dreaming about the next place I want to travel to! Read more...